A Cast of Names Both Old and New
Thorfinn comes from Old Norse Þórfinnr, made up of Thor (the name of the Norse god of thunder) and Finnr meaning “Sámi, Finn, Laplander”, a byname used to refer to someone who came from Finland or was part of the Sami people (also known as Lapps). Although the origin behind finnr is uncertain it has been linked to Old Norse meaning …
Hernán is a Spanish male name, a shortened form of Hernando, the medieval Spanish form of Ferdinand, made up from Germanic elements fardi (journey) and nand (daring, brave) essentially meaning “dangerous journey” or “brave journey”; alternatively, the first part of the name could be derived from Germanic frið meaning “peace" which would change the meaning to "peaceful journey" or "peaceful traveler". Hernán is …
Fenno seems to be a variant form of Old Norse Finnr meaning "Sámi, Finn, Laplander", a byname used to refer to someone who came from Finland or was part of the Sami people (also known as Lapps). Although the origin behind finnr is uncertain it has been linked to Old Norse meaning “wanderer”. I've also seen Fenno listed as …
Ferdinand is an Italian and Spanish name made up from Germanic elements fardi (journey) and nand (daring, brave) essentially meaning "dangerous journey" or "brave journey"; alternatively, the first part of the name could be derived from Germanic frið meaning "peace". Ferdinand is also a surname originating from the given name. Ferdinand was the name of a character in Shakespeare's The …
Wanda is a female given name of uncertain origin. It could have derived from Wend, the name of a Germanic tribe. Though the etymology of the name is uncertain, it has been linked to Germanic *wandern meaning “to wander” deriving from Proto-Germanic *windaną meaning “to wind, to wrap” from Proto-Indo-European *wendʰ- (to wind, to turn). I’ve also seen it linked to Proto-Celtic …
Somerled is a Scottish male name, the anglicized form of Old Norse Somarliðr meaning "summer traveler" or "summer passerby" made up of Old Norse elements sumar (summer) and liðr (to pass by). Somerled also seems to be a surname originating from the given name. Origin: Proto-Indo-European Variants: Somarliðr Somhairle (Scottish, Irish) Sorley (Scottish, Irish)
Doria is an English female name, likely a twist on either Dora meaning "gift" from Ancient Greek and often used as a nickname for names beginning or ending with dora (Pandora, Dorothy, Isadora, etc.), or it could be a feminine form of Dorian, which comes from the name of an ancient Greek tribe called the Dorians. According to mythology, …
Wharton comes from an English surname, originally a habitational name for someone who came from any of several places in England; the second part of the name comes from Old English tun meaning "enclosure, settlement" while the first part of the name could be from Waefer meaning "wandering" or "winding"; it could also be derived from Old …
Torin is a male given name with several possible etymologies: it's an Irish Gaelic name meaning "chief"; it could be related to Irish toirneach meaning "thunder" or Old Irish torann meaning "noise; noise of battle; thunder; tumult); Torin could also be a contracted form of Thorfinn or Torfinn, a Scandinavian male name made up of Thor, the Norse god of thunder whose …
Beatrice is a female given name which comes from Latin Beatrix based on Viatrix meaning "female traveler/voyager" though the spelling was later altered to resemble beatus, which comes from Latin meaning "happy, fortunate, blessed" derived from PIE root word *dew- (to show favor, revere). Beatrice is one of the main characters in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing (1598-1599). Origin: Proto-Indo-European Variants: Beatrix …
Eurielle is a female given name of uncertain meaning and origin. It could be the French form of Ancient Greek Euryale, the name of several figures in Greek mythology, including one of the Gorgons. The name means "far-roaming" or "wide-roaming" made up from Ancient Greek eurús εὐρῠ́ς (wide, broad, spacious) and álē ἄλη (wandering) or alúō ἀλύω (to wander …
Denver comes from an English surname made up from Old English Dene-fær meaning "Dane's crossing" from Dene (Dane) which comes from Proto-Germanic *daniz (a Dane) of unknown etymology though it's possible that it derives from PIE *dʰenh₂- (to set in motion, to flow); and fær (journey; crossing, passage) via Proto-Germanic*faraną (to go, to travel) also derived from a PIE root word. It …
